


Make it or break it.

by Miizurichan



Category: K (Anime), Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Drama, Fluff, M/M, Making Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 12:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3895939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miizurichan/pseuds/Miizurichan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a gold clan member, as an Usagi, as the leader of a special troop, there are some things Kise simply can't do. Revealing his idenity while on duty in public is one of these things. However, Kise mistakenly thinks this goes for his personal life as well. After a year of constantly lying to his most precious person's face, Kise realizes just what he has missed out on. He's not going to let this slip away ever again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make it or break it.

**Author's Note:**

> Say hello to the long awaited KnB & K crossover mainly featuring Aokise!   
> This was supposed to have like 7k words but that clearly didn't happen.   
> This is my most complicated au, by far. but I love it. Honestly, I do.   
> I hope all of you who take the time to read this will enjoy the read as much as I enjoyed writing it! <3

It wasn’t my plan to sit here, all alone in my dorm room. I didn’t plan to have red, puffy eyes and a runny nose. 

I could have blamed my clan, my king, but I don’t. The mess I’m in right now, is my own fault. 

The mess I’m in right now, is something only I can fix. It’s not going to be easy, not when what I did was absolutely horrible. I wonder, if I can ever be forgiven. 

Oh, I should have introduced myself. My name is Kise Ryouta, I’m a part of the gold clan and my king is Kokujouji Daikaku. I have a high rank, but my tasks consist of keeping the Blue and Red clan from going at each other’s throats. 

I was proud of my abilities and my position, until yesterday. That’s when my world fell apart. Here, let me tell you about how I got stuck in this mess. 

\---------

~About two weeks prior~ 

If there was one thing Kise hated, it was being on call duty for his king. Especially when he stayed over at his boyfriend’s apartment. He wanted to snuggle up into the warm arms of his boyfriend, not run after Strains or clansmen of other clans. 

What could he do though? Saying no to his king wasn’t an option. Even if it pissed him off to no end. The hardest part wasn’t getting up. The hardest part was lying right to his boyfriend’s face those times he woke up when Kise was leaving. 

Tonight was one of those nights. It was about four in the morning when his bracelet beeped, signalizing that he had a job to do. However, Kise’s bracelet had another function. It also beeped to signalize that he had three minutes until the seal on his abilities was lifted. 

In other words, he didn’t have time to be dragged back into those strong, comfortable arms his boyfriend had. Kise sighed and tried to wiggle out of those arms. “Aominecchi, I need to go.” Kise frowned and considered biting him to get him off. He couldn’t do that though. 

Groaning and gritting his teeth, Kise decided to play dirty and pressed his hand to a bruise on Aomine’s ribs. An injury he had created. That seemed to do the trick because Aomine sucked in a breath and relaxed his arms enough for Kise to slip out. 

Even if he had only 45 seconds, Kise still took the time to kiss his boyfriend. “I love you, Aominecchi.” A small smile settled on Kise’s face as he got grunts in reply. He only looked back once while he was dressing himself and getting out at the same time. 

\-----------

This was where Kise’s issues started. You see, being a part of the gold clan meant never revealing your identity to the public while on duty, hence the masks. 

Not even a handful of people had figured out Kise’s secret. In fact, only two people had figured it out so far. Neither of those two people were his boyfriend, Aomine. 

Kise told his boyfriend, every time, that he hadn’t found a clan yet. Sometimes he’d even say he wasn’t interested in that kind of life. Lying hurt just as much every time. It hurt even more when he was on call duty though. 

He couldn’t, he refused to disobey his king. 

\------------

Tonight’s duty consisted of two idiot kings creating another mess while searching for the same strain. The gold king was fond of them because they were young and blablabla. 

Kise on the other hand, was the one who had to step between them. Literally stepping between the destructive red and equally destructive blue and countering both powers with his own. 

Needless to say, it went like usual. Completely like it always did. 

Kise didn’t even bother to listen as the Red King, Suoh Mikoto, came up to him, muttering something and swung his fist at him. Kise’s reflexes were better, so he blocked it the punch and swung his elbow into the red king’s abdomen. “Stand down, Red King.” 

The Blue king, Munakata Reisi, had already left when the Red King decided to settle for glaring at Kise and walk off. Some of the other red clansmen glared as well. Kise paid no mind to them. 

Just the average situation for Kise, really. Fighting, or trying to get the red king to stop fighting, was daily basis for Kise. It was exhausting though. 

When he was about to leave, a tap on his shoulder made him turn. “I am sorry you constantly have to deal with this.” A blue haired boy stood in front of him. His name was Kuroko Tetsuya, and he was one of the two that knew Kise’s secret. 

Sighing softly, Kise shrugged his shoulders. “It’s fine, Kurokocchi. I’m used to it by now. I think you have enough trouble keeping your boyfriend in line.” Kise smiled, but it was a somewhat forced smile, he was sure Kuroko noticed that. “Yes. Take care.” He nodded and headed off in the same direction as the rest of clan. 

Kise could finally breathe out. No one tried to fight today. One thing was stopping the Kings, but he knew two people that always seemed to bug each other. Well, four people. However, two of them had put most of their fighting behind them. 

Those two that were still fighting like children were Kuroko’s boyfriend Kagami Taiga, and his own boyfriend, Aomine Daiki. And guess who had to step in and stop them, every damn time? That’s right, Kise had to do that. 

Well, those two thickheaded morons weren’t out at the moment, so it was still alright. Kise could relax at the moment. That was great. 

\-----------

When he was in the gold clan headquarters, he could pull off his mask. There was no law against it, but there could be hackers watching their surveillance and there could be spies. 

Overall, Kise only took off the mask in his dorm room or at his King’s command. His King didn’t command that often though. Kise couldn’t blame him though. 

Having been lost in his own thoughts, Kise didn’t notice the gold clan member step up behind him. “Excuse me, Kise. Our King wishes to see you.” The member – most likely male – looked at him. “Oh, alright.” Nodding back, Kise turned and started heading up to his King’s office. 

He didn’t know if he should be worried or excited about this. 

It didn’t take long to get to the office and his king went right to business like usual. 

“Kise. I understand this will be hard for you, but you have to catch a strain before it gets in the hands of any clans.” The way his king is looking at him makes him see the seriousness about it all. 

“Very well. I don’t understand why it will be hard for me.” Kise frowned, but it wasn’t visible because he was wearing the golden rabbit mask. “The strain’s main objective is the Blue King, Kise. You will need to catch the strain but also protect the Blue King when needed. We do not know if some of his clansmen will be hit or not, so you will need to…” He doesn’t continue, if anything, he looks rather conflicted. 

“I will need to, protect everyone, is that what you’re telling me?” Kise didn’t let his voice waver, but he could feel nervousness creep up spine. “My king, I will complete this task with as little casualties as possible.” Kise got down on one knee, held one hand to his heart, and then stood up again. “I knew you would say that. Your usual troop is standing by in case you need assistance. I believe in you Kise.” His king nods at him and Kise nods back. 

“Yes, my king. I will not disappoint.” Kise walked out with swift and long strides. The first thing he does is gather his troop, which consists of two dozen clansmen. Though Kise’s abilities are better than theirs are, they all have the same abilities. They’re the special force the gold clan has. 

The gathers them all in a large conference room in their headquarters and pulls up everything his king had prepared about the mission. Kise doesn’t lay a strategy; it’s useless to do that when the Blue or the Red clan is involved. What he does do however is teach the troop a sign. “If I use this sign, it means you have to step in. Until then, remain on standby. Understood?” Kise looks around at them all and receives the answer he wished to get. “Good.” He smiles, visibly pleased.

Well back in his own dorm room, Kise pulls off the mask and his uniform. When he’s on duty like this, he wears his combat suit underneath. Of course, that too is black and golden, much like the official gold clan uniform. 

He only started wearing it because the training outfit was similar, and he found it easier to move in when he had to switch to his close combat style. He tried not to use it too often, but sometimes the situation called for it. He hoped such a situation wouldn’t happen. 

\---------

Kise wasn’t sure where to start, but he figured the previous sighting of the strain was a good place. It was just an abandoned park, but Kise hoped to find some clues of some sort there. 

Unfortunately, the blue clan thought the same. Kise felt lucky though, it was Fushimi and Akiyama that came to look, not Aomine. What was rather unfortunate was that Fushimi was wary of everyone in the gold clan. Especially him. Kise had stopped counting the amount of times the older male had tried to knock his mask off with his saber. 

He wasn’t about to let himself get intimidated by him though. Being taller than him served its purpose as well. Kise turned away from them and was about to go back to do what he came there for when Fushimi’s voice made him turn back. 

“I don’t know what kind of mission you’re on, but this strain is ours to take in.” He wasn’t glaring, but he was giving Kise the usual look. The neutral look that was full of distaste. 

“I do not know what kind of ideas you have been fed, but I am here in order to save you the trouble of this strain.” Kise turned toward them and he could see Akiyama was rather exasperated – probably because of Fushimi. 

Fushimi reacted a few seconds too late and Kise walked past them, he didn’t say anything more as he walked away. There was nothing of interest at the abandoned park, much less if the blues came by. 

Kise wondered just where he was supposed to search now. He didn’t want to go to anyone for help; the gold clan didn’t do that. He just wished the damn strain could show itself. 

\---------

Kise wished he could take back the wish of the strain showing himself. Oh how he wished he could take that back. 

The moment he had rounded a corner, he ran smack into a girl. Kise didn’t fall, but the girl did. Ever the gentleman, Kise was about to reach down to help her up when he studied her. 

They both stayed quiet for a good while, then Kise broke the silence. “You’re the strain, aren’t you?” He looks at the girl again, now she’s on her feet. Her hair is short and brown, but she’s still pretty. He’s about to start talking again when she punches his chest with both her hands. He’s confused about it until he feels an ache form around the area she punched, then he looks at her grinning face. This could turn very bad. 

The girl runs off before he can catch her and he feels his entire body ache now. He needs to get to his dorm room somehow. 

Deciding not to rely on his troop, Kise runs. Despite the ache in his entire body, he runs. If he sees someone from any of the other clans, he finds an alley to run through so he can avoid them. 

Then, the worst thing possible happens. He turns a corner and barely manages to stop himself from crashing right into Aomine. His breath catches in his throat and he stiffens up. 

Aomine turns and raises his brows. “You lookin’ for that strain too? Didn’t think the gold clan had any girls though.” He looks so surprised and on pure impulse, Kise opens his mouth to talk back, but then he feels the weight on his chest. 

Alarmed by this, he stumbles backwards and dashes off in the other direction. His heart is thumping so loudly he can’t hear himself think. 

\----------

Kise is sure luck is with him this time, because he reaches their headquarters without any more interruptions. His throat is burning, his head is spinning and his entire body feels foreign. 

It’s as if his king knows, because he comes to meet him by the entrance. He doesn’t look angry or disappointed. Instead, he almost looks frightened. His look tells Kise that he didn’t know what abilities the strain had. 

“I’m sorry, my king. I’m sorry.” He feels itchy and nauseous and there’s a weight pressing on his chest, stretching the fabric of both his combat uniform and his gold clan uniform. 

His king sits down and pats his shoulder. “You have nothing to be sorry for. What we need to do is figure out how to get you back to normal and catch the strain. You have done nothing wrong, Kise.” A gentle smile is on his face and Kise does nothing but nod. 

He gets up, ignores everyone and staggers to his dorm room. He needs to find out what’s wrong with his body, but he’s very relieved that his king isn’t angry with him. 

\-------------

When he gets to his room, he fights his way out of the uniform while staggering to his dorm bathroom where he has a full body mirror. 

When he finally got the combat uniform off and stared at himself, he was stunned. There were breasts on his chest. One peek down his own boxers and he was sure he didn’t have his mini-Ryouta either. 

Great. The strain made him into a woman. He didn’t like this, his king wasn’t going to like it, and he’d have to lie to Aomine again. 

It could take days or even weeks to get this to go over or create an antidote. 

This was going to be the worst week of Kise’s entire life. Aomine would probably not have minded him being either this, or that or whatever, but Kise wouldn’t, couldn’t allow that. It would be humiliating. 

What did he do instead then? He bottled himself up in his dorm room until it was over. He tried anything he could that wouldn’t hurt his body. Hell, he even tried to masturbate it away. 

It was awesome to be able to come multiple times in a row and not feel like his balls were dying, but it was awfully weird. All the more weird because the only thing that got him off was imagining Aomine go down on him in this body. Definitely weird. 

\----------

A week, or rather, precisely seven days was what it took the strain’s power to go away. Seven days, seven horrible days. 

He had countless messages and missed calls, most of them from Aomine. He couldn’t afford to care, even if it made his heart ache. He had his own body back and he had a strain to catch. 

Some things needed to be handled first. First he had to dress, that was easy. Once his combat suit and his official uniform were on, he made his way to his king’s office. 

“I see you’re ready for duty again.” His king was smiling and so was Kise. “Yes, my king, I’m ready for duty. Does my mission remain the same as before?” Kise bows as usual and this time he hears a chuckle from his king. “You need not worry, Kise. However, as both the Blue and Red clan are involved now, you can cooperate with them to find information.” His king, Daikaku, looks at him and Kise nods. “Very well, my king.” 

Neither think anything else needs to be said, so Kise heads out. This time with success in his mind. He’s going to catch that strain, especially after what she did to him. 

\-----------

Kise decided to head directly to the Blue king. If this was going to work, communication needed to be on top and only the Blue king could talk some sense into the Red king. He saw this as the only way out. 

However, getting inside was going to be an issue. Not because it was that secure, but because of Fushimi and Aomine. Both of them were generally wary of the other clans, especially the gold clan. Kise never really understood why, they weren’t even half as whacked as the green clan was. 

When he got inside the Blue clan’s headquarters, he was surprised. Aomine was waiting there. “I was told to escort you to the king’s office.” His voice sounds bored, but Kise can’t blame him. After all, he doesn’t know it’s Kise underneath the rabbit mask. 

Kise nods and walks to him with quick steps. Aomine doesn’t waste any time in leading him down the hall, to the lifts, and up to the Blue king’s office. For some reason, Kise doesn’t feel awkward walking beside Aomine like this. 

When they get to the office, the Blue king smiles at him. “Come in. I’ve been expecting you. Let’s get right down to business, shall we?” He has his hands folded in front of his chin, but he looks relaxed. Kise nods and steps inside. He doesn’t look back when the door closes behind him. 

“You can talk freely, in here, can you not?” Kise can tell the king means serious business, but he expected nothing less from Munakata. “Yes, I can.” Kise walks to the chair in front of the desk and sits down. 

The Blue king, Munakata, nods pleased. “Your king told me a bit about you, rather, your abilities. I must say I’m impressed.” 

Kise can’t help but smile beneath his mask. “Thank you, King Munakata. I look forward to catching this strain with you.” Kise holds out a gloved hand and Munakata shakes it. “I look forward to that as well…” Kise could tell the pause was because the king didn’t know what to call him. 

“You can call me Ryouhei.” Kise lets go of his hand and sits back comfortably. “Very well. I look forward to that as well, Ryouhei.” Munakata smiles once more and they ease over into conversation about how to take the strain. Munakata was surprisingly easy to talk to.

\-----------

When they’ve finally come to an agreement about how to go about it, Kise calls in his troop. 

They come out from everywhere, as they are all shadow manipulators, some better than others. Kise is forced to keep back a laugh when a member of his troop came up from behind and startled Aomine. 

It was quite funny, but Kise had to keep both his professional attitude up and his identity hidden. He settled for faking a cough so he could keep a hand over his mouth to smile

The blue king tore him out of his thoughts. “That’s quite an impressive troop, Ryouhei.” Munakata was impressed, but he expected nothing less from the gold king. 

“Thank you, King Munakata.” Kise nods and looks over his troop. “I think you will find us useful, as we will find you useful.” He turns back to face Munakata, who smiles once again. “Yes, I hope so. Well, let us get going.” He clapped his hands together and their search and attack could begin. 

\---------

It was easy enough to find the strain, but not everyone had the strategy in their heads yet. Well, Aomine didn’t have the strategy in his head yet. 

Kise could barely give the signal to his troop before he had to dash forward and wrap his arms around Aomine to stop him. Kise knew he wasn’t originally strong enough to lock him down and immobilize him, but with the help of an undone seal and some extra boosting, he had Aomine on the ground. 

He had his arms wrapped around Aomine’s torso and arms and his legs were clamping down around Aomine’s legs. “You are not supposed to do that.” He looked at him and for a moment, he thought Aomine could see it was him. Judging by the cold glare he got in return, it was not so. 

“Get off me, I get it already.” Aomine’s voice is hard and Kise can see he’s starting to get pissed off. He’s quick to stand up, knowing his identity could be exposed if he angers Aomine too much. “Do you? For your sake I hope so.” 

Kise turns away and dusts himself off. “We don’t need any more interruptions.” A soft huff escapes him and he shrugs off his official gold clan uniform. 

Before he turns to look at the Blue king, he adjusts the belt around his waist that holds his swords. They’re not the longest swords, but they get the job done. Kise tries to avoid using them, but sometimes it’s inevitable. Like now. He knows what the strain is capable off so it’s important that he takes care of the strain with only his troop standing by. 

“I will be going in then.” Kise looks at Munakata, who nods. “You know what to do if I am not out when an hour has passed.” Kise nods back at him and turns to walk into the building in front of them. 

They’re in the middle of nowhere. There aren’t many buildings close and they’re all abandoned. Kise has no choice but to give the strain kudos for location. He suspects backup will take at least a quarter to get there. 

\----------

“Why are you letting him go in all alone?! Gold clan or not, what the fuck is up with that?” Aomine scowled at his King, his hands were clenched into fists by his side. 

“His mission is different from ours. He came to us asking us to cooperate with him, so we are going to be his backup. Accept it and calm yourself.” Munakata looks at him with a raised eyebrow before he turns back to watch the building. He pushes his glasses up his nose with a slim finger. 

\-------

Abandoned is definitely the right word to describe this building with, Kise finds out before he’s even reached the room the strain is in. 

The building smells old and moldy. It smells like an attic that no one has let air into for hundred years. The smell makes it somewhat hard for Kise to breathe, even if he breathes with his mouth instead of his nose. It’s everywhere and he isn’t getting used to it. He already looks forward to getting out of there. 

He continues down the dark hallway and comes to a stop in front of a door. According to the map of the building, the strain should be in this room. Kise wonders if it’s a trap though. 

The room seems to have four doors one can enter through, which means the strain could easily get away if something went wrong and Kise couldn’t catch her. Kise couldn’t rule out the possibility of her having some kind of escape route either. 

This entire situation bugged him. There was a queasy feeling in his stomach and his chest felt tight. His main objective was to capture the strain without the strain activating her ability or escaping, but with Aomine outside, probably agitated about the situation, he wanted to protect him. He needed himself and his troop to deal with this on their own. 

Before Kise went into the room, he called for his troop. He instructed where they should stand. He really had no idea what to expect while in the room with strain, and he had already been a victim of her powers before. 

With everyone in place, Kise drew a deep breath and opened the door to the room the strain was in.

\----------------

Aomine is walking in a circle outside. Reisi can’t help but wonder why that is, but he doesn’t have time to ask before a blast is heard and dust surrounds them. 

Golden sparks connect to the dust particles, and when it clears, they see why. A member of Kise’s troop has the strain restrained, but that’s not what catches Reisi’s eyes. That’s not what catches Aomine’s eyes either. 

There’s a bruise on Kise’s cheek as well as a slight cut, but that’s not the issue. His mask is broken and on the ground. He tries to remain unruffled by it, but it doesn’t work. His eyes are glowing with a ring of gold in his usually dark golden eyes. There’s a clear look of distaste on his face as well. He doesn’t look toward Aomine. 

“We’re done here. Take the strain back to our King.” Kise nods toward the troop member, who takes off with the rest. Kise should have followed them, but he doesn’t. He stands with his back straight, his head raised as proudly as he can as he turns around. He still doesn’t look at Aomine, doesn’t want to. 

Instead, he looks at Munakata, who looks surprised. He already figured it out. Silence stretches across the area before Munakata finally breaks it. “Well, the strain was captured safely. Our assistance wasn’t needed this time. Let’s head back.” He shoots Kise a small smile before turning around and starting to walk, but Aomine doesn’t budge. 

The spiteful expression Aomine looks at him with makes him swallow around a sudden lump in his throat. It’s time to face the facts, he’s blown it. He killed his own relationship with his fear of disobeying his king. 

“What the fuck.” Aomine’s voice is no more than a broken whisper. He looks haunted, horrified even. Kise remains silent although his hands clench into fists by his sides. He can’t bear to look at Aomine’s expression, but he forces himself to do so. His stomach flips uncomfortably, he wants to escape. 

“I can’t fucking believe you, Kise.” Aomine wrinkles his nose and Kise flinches at the sound of his surname being spit out as if it physically hurts Aomine to say it. He thinks he understands though. It’s his entire fault after all. 

Aomine steps closer to him and Kise can’t help but take the same amount of steps backward. Aomine looks enraged and he looks at Kise as if he’s the antagonist of their story. Their eyes stay locked until Aomine’s fury gets the better of him and the blue aura surrounds him like a blue, angry flame. 

Kise backs away more, but finds himself pressed against the building the strain was in after two mere steps. He’s trapped. His heart is thumping like crazy in his chest and he’s not sure if it’s actually fear, but it feels like it is. He’s never been scared of Aomine before, which frightens him even more. 

“Say something you fucking bastard!” Aomine’s voice is harsh, demanding even, yet Kise doesn’t say anything. He’s petrified, but he still doesn’t think that Aomine would hurt him. A warm, trembling hand touches his cheek and he flinches away from it in surprise. The stunned look on Aomine’s face says it all. 

Before he can even open his mouth, Aomine has turned partly away from him. “I- we’re- Fuck I don’t even know what anything is anymore.” He shakes his head and frowns. As he turns fully away from Kise, he immediately starts walking away with quick steps. Kise knows it’s probably over between them when Aomine doesn’t turn back at all. 

Kise’s breath catches in his throat and he makes sure to cover his mouth as he sinks down to his knees. The ground is dirty, but he doesn’t care. He clamps both hands down over his mouth and forces his heart-breaking sobs back. Even as his tears stain his fingers, he keeps his mouth covered. 

\----------------

There you have it. That’s the whole story, that’s my mess. He hasn’t texted or called me since yesterday. Besides, all I’ve done so far is cry. 

In fact, I spent so much time out there that in the end, they had to pick me up with a helicopter because I couldn’t walk. It’s better now, but my heart has been torn, stepped on and burned. 

I’m sure he has it worse though. I stepped on his heart, broke his trust, and stabbed him in the back. For a whole year. I really can’t blame him for being angry with me. 

This crazy, stupid thing called love though. I love him, I don’t want us to fall apart. However, I can’t force him into anything. I don’t want to force him either. Flowers and chocolate isn’t going to sweep him off his feet and make him forgive me though. I don’t think it’s all that appropriate for me to show up begging on my knees either, giving him time seems like a better idea. 

\------------

He’s sitting with his back pressed against the frame of his bed, his knees are pulled up against his chest and he’s leaning his head on them. Alone is what he is, but it’s not what he wants to be. What’s worse is that he’s not allowed back on duty. 

Not that he wants to go back to work either. He could run into Aomine, which would result in a disaster. Not to mention that Munakata would butt into it like he always butts into things. 

Kise just wants to be with Aomine, but that’s over. As over as it can be, at least. As Aomine said, he just doesn’t know anymore. All he knows is what he feels. He’s always been told to follow his gut feeling, but he doubts that would be useful in this situation. 

He sighs and leans his head back to look at the ceiling. Just when he’s about to close his eyes, there’s a pling from his phone.

Kise doesn’t want to answer it at first, but before a minute has passed, he picks it up anyway. When he presses the little button below the screen and the name of the sender pops up, Kise’s heart stops. Aomine sent him a message, a simple request to meet him. 

Where you ask, that was easy. In the park where they had their first date. It’s a sunny day, so it fits perfectly. Kise just wonders if it’s alright to take this in public. He’s the one that needs to apologize, not Aomine, so this is all rather unexpected. 

He replies with a simple fine. Not because he’s not looking forward to it, but because it’s the only thing can think of replying with. Smileys isn’t the way to go at the moment. Kise can only think the blue king, Munakata, who undoubtedly had a thing or two to do with this sudden message, pushes this forward. 

While he may not be allowed to be on duty, it was his own choice to remain inside his room. He doesn’t feel a need to tell his king where he’s going, but he has a feeling Daikaku knows anyway. 

Kise is still weak from crying so much, but he manages to get up. He almost considers taking a shower, but he decides against it. He settles for splashing some water in his face and finding his favourite clothes. 

Within twenty minutes has passed, he’s ready to roll. He’s not sure if he’s ready to face Aomine though. 

\-----------------

The walk to the park isn’t long, but it’s not fast enough either. Kise doesn’t know what to expect. 

The park is as beautiful as it always is this time of the year. Both the grass and the trees are perfectly, healthy green. It makes him feel a bit more relaxed, even if he knows why he’s there in the park. 

When steps through the opening in the trees, it doesn’t take him long to figure out where to go. It was almost ironic that it was a picnic setting. 

Kise had always been light on his feet, so it doesn’t surprise him when Aomine doesn’t react as he approaches. Much like always, Aomine is laying with his arms behind his head, enjoying the sun. Kise wants to greet Aomine as he’d usually do, but he doesn’t. 

Instead, he sits down quietly and pulls his knees to his chest. “Well, I’m here.” He keeps his voice smooth and composed, but it’s hard. Aomine sees right through him as he opens his eyes and sits up. “You look awful.” 

Blinking at Aomine’s words, Kise’s head snaps toward him. There’s a light look on Aomine’s face, as if he’s trying to ease into a normal conversation. Kise gives him kudos for that. “Thanks for noticing.” He leans his head on his knees and looks at Aomine. Now he notices the bruises on his knuckles. 

“No, really. You look awful. I guess you really felt bad.” The usual frown is on Aomine’s face, but it looks sadder than usual. It makes Kise want to tear his gaze away. 

Sighing softly, Kise turns his entire body toward Aomine, but his knees are still pulled up under his chin. “Of course I felt, still feel, really bad. I never wanted to hurt you.” He tries to swallow around the sudden lump in his throat, but it doesn’t really work. Kise also sounds as if he’s about to cry, which isn’t far from the truth. 

Something seems to change in Aomine, because he opens his arms as an invitation for Kise to come to him. Kise doesn’t hesitate to untangle himself and move to sit beside Aomine. He has his legs over Aomine’s thighs and his head leaned sideways to Aomine’s shoulder. 

Everything goes silent. They don’t speak for minutes after that. The only sounds around them are children playing in the distance and birds chirping up in the trees. 

The silence isn’t exactly comfortable, but it’s needed. It feels as if it’s been months since they were surrounded by each other’s scent like this while it’s only been days. 

Before they’ve started talking again, Aomine is laying with Kise on his chest. The picnic blanket is underneath him. One of his hands tangle into Kise’s hair. He smiles slightly as he hears a relaxed sigh leave Kise’s lips. He’s not entirely sure why he’s doing this, but he doesn’t want to think too much. 

Thinking too much has never really been his thing. He’s always relied on his gut feeling and he supposes this is no different. He knows Kise has hurt him deeply, but it doesn’t make his affection and respect for him grow any smaller. It should have, but it doesn’t. This crazy thing called love. 

It doesn’t surprise Aomine that Kise is the one to break the silence. Kise moves so he can look Aomine in the eyes. He’s wearing his best poker face. “Aomine…cchi, do you want to break up with me?” His voice is steady, serious even. 

At first Aomine doesn’t answer. The question hit him like a ton of bricks. He wasn’t sure what to answer. He could think, say he needed time, or he could go for his gut feeling. The answer is obvious. 

Aomine untangles his hand from Kise’s hair and brushes some hair out of Kise’s face. “No, I don’t. I want to be with you, so we’re gonna work through this. Together.” 

Before Aomine can do or say anything else, he hears small sobs from his chest. He turns his gaze down and finds Kise with his face pressed into his chest, sobbing quietly. His shoulders are trembling slightly and he’s clinging to Aomine’s shirt. 

The reaction baffles Aomine, he’s not entirely sure why Kise is crying. “Hey, hey, why are you crying?” A frown is on his face again, but it’s a worried expression this time. He lifts Kise’s head up gently and he can hear him sniffle. 

Kise draws a deep breath through his mouth and leans his head slightly against Aomine’s warm hands. There are still some tears falling from his eyes, but it’s less than before. “I’m just happy. I’m just so happy, Aominecchi.” 

Aomine is about to speak, but Kise cuts him off with a finger to his lips as he sits up. He shakes his head slightly and clears his throat. “I promise to be truthful from now on. Even if it’ll be long until we’ll be somewhat back to where we were, I’ll be truthful. There’s just one thing, we aren’t allowed to expose our identities in public while on duty, so you can’t go around flirting with me and things like that.” When he’s done talking, he chews lightly on his lip and looks down at Aomine. 

With a very successful poker face, Aomine takes in the information given to him. “I’m happy you’ll be truthful from now on, but hey, my apartment is always open to you. We’ve been together long, as both boyfriends and friends for you to get that by now. We’ll get back to where we were, you know that.” Aomine raises a brow and chuckles lightly at the look Kise gives him. 

With a soft sigh, Aomine continues speaking, his voice is even and steady. “As for that last part, I can’t really promise anything, but I’ll try to keep it to myself when you’re on duty or we’re both on duty.” He grins and laughs from the pit of his stomach when Kise slaps his arm gently. 

“Come on, Aominecchi!” Kise pouts and leans down over Aomine. “But, I’m glad. Does that mean I can come by anytime?” The most sparkly smile he’s smiled in a while is on his face and Aomine is sure he’s almost falling in love all over again, despite everything that’s happened. 

Shaking his head slightly in disbelief, Aomine wraps his arms around Kise’s waist and pulls him down into a hug. “Of course it does.” He presses his cheek to Kise’s hair and he can feel Kise laugh against him. He can’t help but laugh a bit as well. 

\--------------

When they’ve lazed around on the picnic blanket for a while, Kise suddenly sits up. “Hey, I’m getting hungry but there’s a thing I need to do first.” He looks very serious, so Aomine just shrugs and puts his arms behind his head. He keeps his gaze on Kise as the blond rolls up the sleeve of his shirt and taps the bracelet on his wrist twice. 

Aomine is baffled when a small hologram of the gold king appears, but to Kise it seems it was the plan. “Did you finally find all your answers, Kise?” Despite it being a hologram, the gold king’s voice rings out clearly to both of them. 

A wide smile spreads out on Kise’s face as he nods. “Yes, I have, my king.” For some reason Aomine doesn’t understand, Kise looks ecstatic. The small hologram of the gold king smiles. “Well, then. I grant you permission to destroy the bracelet. You no longer have any need for it.” Kise nods and the hologram of the gold king disappears. 

Looking just as confused as before, if not more, Aomine continues to stare at Kise. Fortunately, it doesn’t take Kise long to notice. “Ah, you see. This bracelet was designed as an alternative communicating device for me. This would block my aura and powers when I was off duty. That’s why you could never guess I had a clan. I’m sorry.” He looks sheepish now, but it doesn’t really bug Aomine as much. 

“Ah, really? Well, at least you’re getting rid of it now, that’s what matters, right?” Aomine stretches his arms slightly and Kise nods with a hum. “Yes, that’s true.” He holds out his hand and concentrates his aura around the bracelet on his wrist. Aomine watches in fascination as the golden flames and sparks erase the bracelet without hurting Kise’s skin. 

The fascination doesn’t go unnoticed by Kise, who smiles and lowers his arm once the bracelet is fully gone. “What? You’ve never seen aura manipulation like that?” He chuckles as Aomine shakes his head in bewilderment and sits up slowly. 

“I want to see the tricks up your sleeves, we should train together. I saw your swords.” Aomine still looks somewhat confused, but he’s more relaxed. Kise snorts slightly as Aomine reaches for the picnic basket. “You sure you want to do that? I could have more tricks up my sleeve than you want to know. Besides, I know close combat as well.” 

Kise grins as Aomine almost drops the items he’s taken out of the picnic basket. He looks at Kise with one of the most shocked expression. “For real? Holy shit, Kise. So it’s been you who’s given me some real beatings the past year.” Aomine looks so baffled that Kise can’t help but laugh. 

“This isn’t a laughable manner, Kise you bastard!” His words are harsh, but he’s laughing as well. “I’m sorry, but yes. That’s been me alright.” The sentence is barely understandable as Kise is still laughing. 

“Stop laughing already!” Aomine tries to tickle Kise’s sides but all that happens is that Kise drags him down to lay on the blanket again. He’s still giggling, and it doesn’t stop even as they meet halfway for a short kiss. 

They stop and stare at each other for a bit, then they kiss again. Aomine has one leg between Kise’s legs. His arms are wrapped loosely around Aomine’s neck. They forget about the food completely. 

\-----------

When they finally decide to detach themselves from each other, the sun is lower on the sky and the food is probably cold, very cold. Aomine takes the initiative when they sit up. “Hey, how about we go back to my apartment? You can spend the night can’t you?” He looks at Kise who just smiles and nods. “Of course I can, Aominecchi!” He takes the basket when Aomine is done repacking it and steps off the blanket they had been sitting on. 

While Aomine folds the blanket, Kise turns his head up to watch the sky. It’s calm outside, and the small breeze makes Kise feel even more relaxed. He gets completely lost in his own thoughts until he feels Aomine take his hand. “Come on airhead, let’s go.” He looks amused, but the comment still makes Kise pout. 

He squeezes Aomine’s hand gently as they start walking. “I’m not an airhead.” Kise puffs his cheeks out and bumps his shoulder to Aomine’s shoulder. It takes Aomine slightly off guard, so he stumbles a tiny bit to the side and curses lowly. 

Kise is in the middle of a chuckle when Aomine bumps him back. He yelps and pouts. “You almost pushed me into the road, Aominecchi!” He turns to look at Aomine who just shrugs. “You started it.” He grins and Kise just shakes his head with a small laugh. 

\------------

 

The rest of the walk to Aomine’s apartment is filled with small talk of all kinds. It’s very comfortable. 

When they finally arrive to Aomine’s apartment, Aomine is quick to find his keys to unlock the door. They take of their shoes and place them by their usual places before they walk into the living room. 

It’s only after he’s flopped down on the couch that he notices the fireplace is lit. It makes Kise wonder if Aomine had planned, or hoped for this. Just the thought of that gave Kise a warm and fuzzy feeling. 

He looked back when he heard his name being called from the kitchen. “Cream, marshmallows or both?” Aomine has his head stuck out from the kitchen door, patiently waiting for a reply. 

Kise smiles and leans his head on the edge of the sofa. “Both please!” He grinned and watched as Aomine grunted in reply and disappeared back into the kitchen to finish. Kise didn’t move until Aomine had come out again with two steaming cups of hot chocolate. 

Aomine handed Kise his cup, then he sat down with his own. Kise sniffed it lightly and leaned against Aomine’s arm. “It smells delicious.” He smiles and looks up at Aomine. 

Shrugging slightly with a small smile on his lips, Aomine looks at Kise as well. “Thanks, it’s home made.” He takes a small sip of it and watches as Kise does the same. “Is it? Mmh, it tastes even better!” Kise smiles and licks away a little cream moustache from his upper lip. 

Aomine can do nothing but hum and hide his smile by taking some more sips of the hot chocolate. He can’t help but feel pride swell in his chest. He’s not exactly the best cook on any area. 

Kise seems to notice he’s thinking about something, because he swings himself over to sit on Aomine’s lap. “What are you thinking so much about?” He looks down at Aomine with a curious and amused expression. Aomine just shakes his head and wraps his free arm around Kise’s waist. “Nothing important. I’m just feeling giddy.” 

Chuckling at Aomine’s answer, Kise reaches to put their cups behind himself on the table. After he’s done that, Kise pulls them both down so they’re laying on the couch. “Why?” Kise looks like he already knows, and he probably does, but he wants to hear Aomine say it. 

Aomine shakes his head with a sigh and wraps his arms around Kise’s waist. He locks eyes with him and he can’t help but be reminded of how long his lashes are. “Because knowing the truth and still being with you feels great.” 

Before Aomine can react, Kise has cupped his face and kissed him. He kisses back and leans his forehead to Kise’s forehead. “I feel the same, Aominecchi.” He smiles and just traces Aomine’s jawline with his fingertips while gazing into his eyes. 

Within minutes, it’s as if the tension has completely let go. It’s as if they were never apart in the first place. With the addition that it’s been a hard day for them both, tiredness washes over them. 

Aomine rolls over on his back and Kise moves accordingly to lay comfortably against his chest. Just like that, they fall asleep. Comfortably in each other’s arms, in the start of working back the trust that was broken. However, they were still happy, being together. 

\---------------

Hell is happening. 

That was the first thought Kise had when he woke up, halfway on the floor, halfway on the couch. His back is aching, his knees are pretty numb and his cheek is mushed into Aomine’s belt. Overall, it’s not a cool position at all. 

Kise stands up slowly with the support of the table. His legs are definitely numb. He turns his head to look at Aomine and is nearly personally offended by the fact that his sleeping position is just fine. Now that’s just unfair, Kise thinks. 

He huffs out a breath and pouts. He’s definitely not going to wake him now. Oh, no, he’s going to walk with small steps to the kitchen until his legs stop feeling weird as heck. 

When he finally gets there, there’s only a tiny prickling sensation in his feet. Kise sighs relieved and opens the fridge. At first he’s somewhat blinded by the light, but when he gets used to it, he takes out what he wants to eat. 

He’s no longer surprised Aomine has actual food in the fridge, but it still makes him smile to see his favourite cream cheese in the fridge. Kise wasn’t sure why such a small thing made such an impact on him, but he didn’t really question it. 

There’s still no sign of Aomine waking up when Kise sits down with a glass of milk to eat. Kise can understand though. It must have taken him a lot of self-control to avoid getting angry the previous day. 

Kise stares out in front of himself absentmindedly while he eats his breakfast and drinks his milk. He’s not thinking about anything specific, he’s just sitting quietly by the white kitchen table. 

It feels as if he’s sat there for hours, but it’s only gone a few minutes when he decides to get up and put the dishes away. He wonders what he could do now. 

One option could be waking Aomine, but Kise wanted to let him sleep. A shower is what he decides. He could take a bath, but that takes too long to get ready so he settles for the shower. 

Kise stretches his arms above his head and lets out a quiet yawn as he walks across the living room and to the bathroom. It’s not the largest bathroom around, but Kise loves it either way. Aomine is surprisingly good at keeping it clean as well. 

The best part about the bathroom is the shower though. It’s big and comfortable. The water holds the temperature you set it to be at, which is very helpful. 

Chuckling slightly, Kise strips out of his clothes and steps into the shower. He can’t help but start humming while he turns the shower on. He’s pretty sure it’s the same melody as a duet song he sang with Aomine at a karaoke bar once, but he’s not sure. 

\---------------

Aomine wakes up startled, then he remembers yesterday’s events. He sinks back against the couch and sighs softly. First now he feels the ache in his back. Grumbling, he sits up once more and stretches his arms up. 

He doesn’t need to look around to be sure where Kise is. He can hear the shower running. Aomine wants to join him, but his stomach protests with a growl. 

This is nice, he thinks as he makes his way to the kitchen. It’s nice, to finally be able to have Kise around himself. No more secrets, no more lies. They can spend more time together too. 

After he makes himself breakfast, he sits down in the exact same chair that Kise sat in when he ate. He’s always been a fast eater when he’s hungry, so breakfast is gone in no time. 

Aomine walks with quick strides toward the bathroom door after putting the dishes in the sink. He’s not surprised to find the door unlocked. 

Kise doesn’t hear him come in over the sound of the shower. He doesn’t notice anything until he feels a pair of strong arms around his waist. He yelps in surprise, but he collects himself quickly and turns to face Aomine. 

Because of everything that happened prior to Aomine finding out his secret, Kise first now realizes it’s been over a week since he’s seen Aomine. Unable to find any words to say, Kise can only cup the sides of his face and pull him down for a short kiss. Aomine happily kisses back and reaches behind Kise to get the shampoo. 

Kise is quick to snatch it out of his hands. “Let me do it.” He smiles and only receives a shrug in reply. That usually means ‘go ahead’, so Kise pours a little shampoo into his palm before starting to rub it into Aomine’s hair. 

While he’s doing that, he starts humming the melody from before again. It seems to be stuck in his head as he gives Aomine a little scalp massage. Kise knows Aomine is enjoying it from experience. He may not have a lot of hair, but Aomine loves having his hair played with. 

And just like that, the shower continues. They wash each other by turn while trying to avoid getting soap in any eyes, mouths or noses. It’s intimate. 

When Aomine washes down Kise’s sides, he can’t help but squirm against it. They’re ticklish spots and Aomine knows that. To distract Kise, he kisses his neck gently and washes his thighs. He can feel the vibrations of Kise’s hum against his lips. It’s oddly nice. 

The rest works out fairly easily as the most ticklish spots on Kise’s body are his sides. Goddamn Aomine and those sinfully nice hands. 

The washing of Aomine’s entire torso goes just fine, but when Kise sinks to his knees to wash his legs, he knows it’s gonna be bad. His thighs, especially his inner thighs are sensitive. Ticklish sensitive. He tries to hold back the laughter as Kise washes them, but it doesn’t exactly work. If Kise’s fond, shit-eating grin is anything to go by. 

After he’s done, Kise stands up and presses a short kiss to his lips. Then he turns around and walks out of the shower. A wide smile stretches across his lips because he can feel Aomine staring at his butt as he leaves the shower. 

Kise looks at Aomine with a smile and hands him a towel when he gets out as well. “You’re a damn tease you know that?” Aomine looks at him with an amused and playful look. Kise shrugs innocently and dries his legs. “Am I? I didn’t notice we were already back to this.” He’s testing the waters, and he’s perfectly aware of it. 

Raising an eyebrow, Aomine shoots him a grin. “If you want us to be, we could be.” He doesn’t even try to hide the teasing tone of his voice. It makes Kise burst out laughing with such force that he drops the towel and leans slightly against the bathroom counter. 

The laughter doesn’t stop until Aomine is in front of him. He looks awfully amused and Kise can’t do anything but chuckle and dry the corners of his eyes. No words are exchanged, just another kiss. 

Kise then moves to one of the cabinets where he knows Aomine still keeps his body lotions and other lotions. His skin is somewhat sensitive and Kise generally likes looking pretty. It doesn’t take long for him to be done with his little routine. 

However, Aomine is already dressed when he’s done. Kise is used to that though. It’s always like this. That small kiss to the back of his neck is also the same as usual. “You could at least let me dress.” Kise smiles anyway.

\------------

When they’re both dressed and dry, they walk out of the bathroom. “You know, we could go training today? We who aren’t on duty on these days usually train these days.” Aomine shrugs and looks at Kise. 

“I’d love to come with!” Kise grins and follows Aomine to the door. “Great. I have my stuff down at the headquarters, so we can go get your stuff first, yeah?” He looks at Kise again, who looks surprised for a second, then nods eagerly. “Sure, I don’t think it should be a problem.” He grabs Aomine’s hand as they walk out. 

Aomine hums in approval and stops only long enough to lock the door, then he continues walking with Kise. Their hands are entwined as they walk. 

\--------------

The walk to Mihashira Tower isn’t too long and walking in goes just fine. The most reaction they get are stares that last for maybe a few seconds. Kise actually thinks they react more to him walking around without his uniform and his mask than him holding hands with Aomine. He can’t he sure though. 

Without any more interruptions, they make their way up to the dorm part of the headquarters. There aren’t many of them, as most members have decided to live in apartments, or houses, or so on. Kise likes the dorm life though. The rooms are pretty. 

Kise smiles somewhat sheepishly as he opens the door. “I’m sorry it’s a mess. Had a bit of a… yeah, you know.” He walks in first, but he knows Aomine trailing behind himself. 

“It looks pretty wrecked, though I’ve seen worse rooms.” He shrugs and leans back against the wall. He watches as Kise steps over things that are strewn across the room. 

Kise looks back at Aomine and shoots him an uncertain smile. “Next time you come here I promise it’ll be better.” He opens the doors to his closet and reaches in to find his combat uniform. “I hope you don’t mind.” Kise looks at Aomine who just shrugs. 

“I really don’t.” Aomine yawns slightly and keeps his gaze on Kise while he packs a bag with his clothes and a pair of shoes. He can feel the restlessness in his chest. He’s certainly looking forward to training with Kise. 

“You ready to go?” Aomine looks up at Kise when he hears him speaking. “Yeah, sure.” He shrugs and reaches for his hand once again. Kise meets him halfway and entwines his fingers with his as they walk out of the dorm. 

\------------

It takes a bit longer to get to the Scepter 4 headquarters, but they make small talk all the way there. They bump shoulders, bump hips, share small kisses and pull each other away from walking into strangers. 

Kise is giggling against Aomine’s shoulder when they enter the building, but Aomine doesn’t mind all that much. He moves his arm to wrap it around Kise’s waist as he pulls him along. “Come on now, Kise.” He huffs slightly and smiles softly as he pulls Kise along to the training hall. 

They change in the locker rooms and first now Aomine has a chance to actually check out how Kise looks with his combat uniform. What can he say? He likes what he sees. 

It’s somewhat tightfitting and black, but it has golden stripes down the sides of the legs and golden stripes that curl around the fabric on his biceps. 

Aomine really likes it on Kise. When Kise walks past him, he notices how nicely it sits across his back and his ass. “Damn…” Not realizing he’s said it aloud, Aomine goes back to pulling his training tank top over his head. 

Kise notices and he knows. Oh, you be sure he knows this uniform looks great on him. He grins slightly and looks back at Aomine. “You coming?” Kise grins wider as Aomine shakes his head slightly and grunts in reply to his question. There’s no hiding the small blush on his cheeks. 

While he’s not commenting on it, Aomine knows Kise will never let him live that down in the future. Aomine knows that very well, not that he minds all that much. 

\---------

When they came into the training hall, it was still empty. While Kise looks around the hall, Aomine stretches his arms behind his head. “Well, let’s warm up and do some jujutsu training.” He looks back at Kise who grins. 

“You are aware that’s the combat style I use the most when I’m not using my swords, yeah?” Kise grins as he and Aomine starts jogging back and forth in the lanes made for running. 

“It is? Damn, it’ll be a challenge to train then.” Aomine just grins wider and it sets a fire in Kise’s soul. He definitely wants to show Aomine’s who’s boss of jujutsu. “Oh, you be sure it’ll be a challenge Aominecchi!” 

Aomine laughs as they jog. “Looking forward to crushing you, Kise!” He looks over at Kise and nearly loses his footing at the look in his eyes. He looks so intense and serious that Aomine nearly has to pinch himself. 

“Now, now, Aominecchi. You shouldn’t get too cocky.” Kise grins, but it’s different from before. It makes a tiny shiver of both fear and excitement run down Aomine’s spine. He’s never seen this side of Kise before. 

If this is how Kise is going to be, he might as well get fired up and go all out as well. Aomine definitely looks forward to them training together if this is how it’s going to be. 

\-----------

By the time they’re getting ready to train jujutsu, some of the members from Scepter 4 has come. Meaning, Fushimi and Akiyama came and Akiyama told the others. Kise didn’t mind the audience at all. If anything, it made him more fired up. 

They both got in position and look at each other. “First to being five times on the floor in a row.” Aomine grins and rolls his shoulders slightly. 

“You’re on, Aominecchi.” Kise grins widely and cracks his knuckles slightly. He’s already filled with adrenaline and buzzing with excitement. He can barely keep his aura back as the training starts. 

When they start, they’re testing the waters of how much strength they can use and which techniques that work the best against each other. They start out as equals, but it’s not hard to see that Kise is just a notch above him in all areas. 

Better reflexes, better coordination with techniques. All that results in Aomine overall landing on his back on the ground more times than Kise. 

“I told you to not get cocky.” Kise grins at him as he gets up from the ground. If he lands one more time on the ground, Kise wins. They’re both somewhat out of breath, but it’s in a good way. It’s supposed to be tiring. It’s training. 

“In return you shouldn’t underestimate me.” Aomine grins and so the last round begins. 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t last long. Aomine groans as his back hits the somewhat soft panels underneath him. When he opens his eyes, he sees Kise leaning down dangerously close to his face. The edges of his hair tickle his chin slightly. 

“I win, Aominecchi.” There’s a small glint in his eyes and he’s grinning wider than ever. He leans down the rest of the way to peck Aomine’s lips. Aomine just lays there; completely unable to comprehend what just happened. 

He watches as Kise turns around to throw his arms up when the others start clapping. It’s only when Aomine sees Munakata watching and clapping as well that he breaks from his trance. 

He gets up swiftly and narrows his yes. “Gimme a rematch you asshole!” He dashes forward and grabs Kise around the waist, effectively sending them both to the ground. 

“Wah – Aominecchi! – ouch!” Kise leans up on his elbows and rubs his nose. “What was that for?!” Still holding his nose, Kise huffs at Aomine while also sporting a frown. 

Aomine stares at him, then he bursts out laughing. His laugh is so hard and sudden that he startles everyone in the room. “S-sorry. Pff- what the hell!” Most of what he says can’t be understood through his laughter, but Kise understands anyway. 

“Why are you laughing?” Kise moves closer to him and pouts. “This is not a laughing matter!” Pouting harder, Kise shoves at Aomine’s chest, but it backfires and Aomine pulls him over himself. “Hey!” 

As Kise looks at Aomine, his laughter dies down. “It’s just that you’re so different. The you that comes when you fight and the you when you don’t.” Aomine reaches up and brushes some hairs away from Kise’s flushed face. His hair is mildly damp on some places. 

“Am I? I didn’t notice at all.” Kise blinks confused and Aomine just snorts slightly. “Of course you don’t. But you can just ask anyone in the room, they’d all agree.” 

As if the comment made him remember, Kise straightens up and looks around at the members from Scepter 4. He’s completely speechless, as he had forgotten they were even in the room for a moment. 

Feeling utterly embarrassed, Kise hides his face in Aomine’s chest, even if his training top is somewhat damp from their training. “This is so embarrassing…” Kise groans and continues to hide his face. 

The action makes Aomine, along with most of the others watching chuckle. “It’s not that bad. Besides, we’ll all be used to this kind of thing soon enough. I think you’ve sparked an interest with my king.” Aomine grins at him and Kise simply groans again. 

\----------

When they finally manage to get out of that situation, finish showering and changing, they’re headed home to eat. It’s cooler outside now than it was earlier and Kise finds that refreshing. 

Walking hand in hand with Aomine, making small talk about anything feels very relaxing. This is where he belongs; this is where he wants to be. He’s made mistakes, but he’s only human. Everyone makes mistakes, some of them could have been avoided, and some were inevitable. It’s a part of life and Kise knows that. 

However, he’s ready to face anything. The chaotic life of clans and dangerous work he’s already gotten used to. Their relationship is no longer a secret in any way, and whatever consequences come from that, they’ll just have to work through. Kise believes – no, Kise knows they can do that. 

Therefore, as he’s walking down the nearly empty street with Aomine, he knows there’s no place he’d rather be. Gold entwined with Blue makes for beautiful things, Kise thinks. He’s not about to let that rip apart, ever again. 

\-------------

It’s been a long day for me Aomine and me. No, it’s been two long weeks for both of us. It’s been chaotic, but isn’t the clan life always just that? 

I could settle down here, in this mess, and still be happy. This is the life I chose for myself, and all my mistakes will be fixed. Looking down at Aomine sleeping beside me is a proof of that. 

Many things could have happened, but I think this story got the best possible outcome. I won’t complain, this time. But, my adventure with this life is far from over. I wonder what will happen next, but at the same time, I’m not sure I want to know. 

Time will tell that much I’m sure of. For now, I’ll take it day by day and enjoy my life as much as I can. However, I won’t get much peace with three pairs of hotheaded morons trying to go at each other all the time. 

I still wouldn’t trade my life for a clanless life, or a life without Aomine and my friends in it. There’s always something new going on, and I’ll live ever moment of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Should I make extras to some moments of this that you maybe find lacking or that I find lacking? Hm, we'll see how long this crossover au whatever will sail!


End file.
